


Hold Me Close

by tigerkat16



Series: Nyche [1]
Category: Kingsglaive
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-10-31 20:39:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 19,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10907064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerkat16/pseuds/tigerkat16
Summary: Just Nyx and Luche being dorks in love.





	1. Chapter 1

      The first time Luche even hears the name ‘Nyx Ulric’ was after his mother had moved them north to a town on one of the larger islands. It was from the woman his mother worked for, Lani Ostium. While they worked, mending and tailoring clothes, he pretended to read instead of listening to Lani tell his mother about the whole town.  
      “Now the Ulrics are a different breed altogether. The oldest family on the island. Their oldest boy Nyx is about Luche’s age. The most telling thing about him is what he’s good at. Fighting, gardening, mischief, and caring. As much trouble as that boy causes, he loves ten times more.” Luche thinks Lani is a terrible gossip, but is absolutely intrigued by this Nyx Ulric. “He’s away with his father on a hunt right now. Taking care of some sawtooths at the eastern river I think.”  
      “What kind of mother lets a 14 year old boy go hunting?” Part of Luche agreed with his mother. Hunts from the city were nothing but demons and no one but the older hunters were allowed to take those.  
Lani just laughed, “Don’t let Naz hear you say that. She and Solaris have been teaching both him and Selena how to fight since they could walk. The Ulrics are the go to family when the town is in danger or in need of healing. If the four of them are together, I don’t think even Niflheim would dare attack us.” At that moment a boy barged into the shop, stopping when he realized there were other people there.  
      "Can Crowe and I have money to go to the bakery?” The more Luche studied the boy, the more he could only come up with was stout and no chin.  
      "Sure, Lib. Grab some from the register. Why don’t you take Luche with you? I’m sure he’s bored to death pretending like he isn’t listening to us talk.” He looks over in shock to his mother’s boss only to be met with a wink.  
      “Fine. Come on new kid.” This ‘Lib’ huffs as he collects some gil from the register and moves out the door, not really caring if Luche follows or not. Luche shoots up from his stool, surprised when this tiny girl is waiting for them. She instantly curls in on herself when she notices Luche.  
      “I won’t hurt you. My name is Luche.” Instinct and manners take over, but he’s smart enough to not extend a hand towards her. She unfurls a bit but doesn’t talk. The boy talks for her.  
      "She’s still a bit shy after being run out of her village. This is Crowe. I’m Libertus.” He supplies before taking off down the street. Luche follows them, trying to map out the layout of the buildings as best as he could. Silence reigned as they walked.  
      “What can you tell me about Nyx Ulric?” Libertus snorted and even Crowe’s lips twitched into a smile.  
      “There are no amount of words that could describe him. He’s my best friend. He’s the only reason we’re allowed to go down to the canyon at all without an adult and the reason we’re in detention most of the time.” The more he hears of this boy, the more Luche wants to meet him. If only to know if he matches up to what everyone says. Libertus ducks into a store and they both follow. Luche thinks there is nothing special about this bakery. It looks just like any other bakery he’s been into. After a quick exchange, they walk out with something called Pigs in a Blanket. Luche discovers quickly it’s just a piece of sausage wrapped in a croissant roll.  
      “Why does everything here have a weird name?” The only response was a glare and silence. Luche just sighed as he resigned himself to already not having friends here either. At that moment, Libertus let out a curse as he got slammed into.  
      “Six, Nyx! What are you doing back?” All Luche could see was a mess of wild hair and wiry arms wrapped around Libertus.  
      “Those sawtooths were nothing compared to me!” The stranger pulled back, looking like he was going to go for Crowe before he spotted Luche. Luche could’ve sworn he’s never seen eyes as blue as the ones that were studying him now. Without warning the boy sprinted back to, what Luche assumed, was his father and tugged on his arm before whispering into his ear.  
They could all hear the response clear as day, “I need you to keep that a secret. I get to pick what we have for dinner for the rest of the year if you wait three months to tell your mother. I’ll share that power if you keep quiet.” The boy went from scared and hurt to grinning and laughing in the span of a few seconds as his dad looks thoughtful, “also, don’t cuss. There’s a lady present.” Another laugh before Nyx was running back to them, stopping in front of Luche.  
      “Hi. I’m Nyx. You must be the kid from the city everyone’s been talking about. Glad you finally made it. What’s your name?” Luche was a little taken aback by the sheer friendliness and energy that was apparently Nyx Ulric.  
      “Luche.” Was about all he could manage. Nyx grinned before looping their arms together.  
      “Well, Luche, I am going to be your official tour guide to Havaugh. Today we will only be touring the town. With any luck, tomorrow I’ll show you all the really cool parts on the outskirts. I see you’ve already been to Carbuncle’s. It’s our best because it’s our only. Next stop is Jelly Juice. Best place quench your thirst.” Luche watched as his new companion easily ignored the other two, already caught up in showing him around the town.  
      “Best because it’s the only one?” To be honest, Luche was starting to get a little swept up in the whirlwind that was Nyx.  
      “Because it’s the only one we are old enough to get into.” He couldn’t help but chuckle along with Nyx. Maybe this move wasn’t going to be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

            It took Luche two days to settle on the description ‘hell raiser with a heart’ for Nyx. It took Nyx two days to land the pair in detention for an impromptu water fight that Luche tried not to participate in but he is also discovering that saying no to Nyx is near impossible. “psst, Luche.” Luche focused harder on his chemistry homework, barely glancing at his notes as he writes. “Luche.” He shushes Nyx, glancing at him before returning back to the paper. “Luuuuuuuuuccchhhhhe.”

            “What, Nyx? You’re going to get us in trouble. Again.” He immediately regretted giving him the attention based on the smirk on Nyx’s face.

            “You must be made of uranium and iodine because all I see is U and I.” Luche did his best to stare blankly at him, regretting ever having interest in this kid. Nyx’s eyes steeled with determination as the smirk stays on his face. “Are you full of Beryllium, Gold, and Titanium, because you are Be-Au-Ti-Ful.” Luche had to bite the inside of his cheek to maintain his blank stare. “If you were C6, and I were H12, all we would need is the air we breathe to be sweeter than sugar.” Luche had to look back down at his homework and bite his lips to keep from laughing, not wanting to encourage Nyx’s awful lines. “I wish I were adenine because then I could get paired with U.” Luche just puts his head down on the table, shoulders shaking as he tries to keep his laughter quiet.

            He can feel Nyx throwing his hands up in the air in victory. “You are such an idiot.” Luche managed a few seconds later as he turned his head to see Nyx’s huge grin. “Hush and go back to work.” Nyx just winks and holds up his completed homework. “Did you just guess on all of those?” He shakes his head and points at Luche’s paper while shushing him. Luche eyed him suspiciously before going back to work. After what felt like an eternity of silence only broken by Luche humming random melodies that pop into his head, they were finally dismissed.

            “Any plans?” Nyx fell in step with him as they make their way through the mostly empty school. Luche shrugs, holding open the door for Nyx.

            “I think mom said something about watching a movie together. I’m probably going to claim I have to study if it’s one of her over the top, sappy romance movies.” Nyx nods sagely as they head down the dirt road. “You?”

            “Got some gardening to do. The witch hazel isn’t happy where I have it so I need to find a place to relocate it to. I’ll probably switch it with the basil. That thing can grow like a weed anywhere I put it.” Luche just nods like he knows what Nyx is going on about. “Then spar with Selena and dad. You can hang out if you want instead of stuffy romance movies.” Luche nods again, but this time with a smile.

            “That sounds much better. Though maybe not the sparring. I’m more of a target practice kind of guy.” Nyx gives Luche a look like he just insulted his entire family.

            “Everyone needs to know how to use a blade, Lu. Come on, I’ll tell dad he has a new student. You can learn from the master. Maybe one day be as good as me.” Nyx flashed an arrogant smirk at him before picking up the pace. Luche just rolled his eyes and followed. He was surprised that behind the Ulric’s small house were fields of different crops. Nyx noticed his gaze and grinned, “We grow most of the island’s wheat, cotton, potatoes, and lentils. We have workers to help, but that’s mostly because dad goes on so many hunts which leaves ma and I to wrangle everything. Selena’s starting to actually be helpful, but not that much.”

            “There’s nothing like this back in the city. It’s all factories and smoke. Everyone always rushing and miserable.” Luche licked his lips as he took it all in, not noticing Nyx moving closer to share his view. “Out here it’s just…so open. It’s like people are moving at a fast pace still, but there’s no rush. They’re just moving.”

            Nyx goes quiet for a minute before nodding. “We do things at our own pace. Everything gets done, we make sure to leave time to be with family and friends, to have fun.” Luche should really start expecting it when Nyx wraps an arm around him more. “You finally get it. Welcome to Havaugh.” Luche can’t help but to smile at Nyx. “Now, come on. I have a plant to save.” Nyx dragged him over to the planter boxes closer to the house. Luche settled onto the porch with their backpacks, giving his friend a confused look when he strips off his shirt. “I hate the feeling it gets when I get all sweaty. Just better to take it off.” Luche nodded and Nyx set off to work, absentmindedly keeping up a running commentary as he did so. It was calming just to sit and watch, absorb the random bits of information.

            “Here I come out to see what song bird you’ve found for your sister to heal, and I find the two of you.” Luche realizes now that Nyx had fallen silent a while ago while Luche had picked up singing whatever song filters through his head. He grins sheepishly up at Nyx’s dad who is just smiling like they’d given him the best gift.

            Nyx just laughs, “Luche might be one in secret but I call dibs if he needs healing.” He isn’t really sure how to take that. “Also, he doesn’t know how to use a blade.” Luche feels like sinking into the wood right about now as Mr. Ulric turns his attention towards him.

            “Is that so? Well we can’t have that. Come on, we’ll start with the basics while Nyx finishes up.” That was how Luche found himself training with the Ulrics every day after school. It was also how they learned just how quick of a study Luche actually is. It took about a month and a half for Solaris to start inviting Luche to the less dangerous hunts with him and Nyx, even though his mother always said no.


	3. Chapter 3

           Luche is not a morning person. He’s a night owl. He prefers the witching hour when everyone should be asleep and he can breathe without feeling like he has to do everything perfectly. There are nights now when he has Nyx sneaking through his open window, flopping face first next to him on the bed, and asking Luche to read to him. Despite all this, he does make an effort to wake up early every morning to make breakfast and eat it with his mom.

            “I feel like I never see you anymore. Always running off and getting into trouble with that Ulric boy.” Luche can already feel the headache forming that is the constant companion when it came to arguing with his mother. “You never used to be like that. You used to come home on time, never were in detention, never covered in dirt and bruises.”

            “Yeah, I also used to not have friends too.” Luche set down his fork and grabbed his mug before leaning back in the chair. “Nyx isn’t bad. He’s just free-spirited and drags me, Libertus, and Crowe along for the ride.” He knows instantly he used the wrong choice of words by the gleam in his mother’s eye.

            “See, you don’t even want to go along with him. Are you just lonely? Is that why you’ve been acting out? You know how this behavior makes me look. I can ask Lani to change my work schedule so we can spend more time together.” He takes a drink of his tea, just so he doesn’t say the first thing in his head.

            “I’m not lonely and you don’t need to change your schedule. I’m not ‘acting out’, I’m just having fun with my friends. Yes, it gets us into trouble sometimes. I’m a teenager, it happens.” His mother dropped the look of concern and glared slightly.

            “You refuse to tell me where you are going or what you’re doing. Ever since you started hanging out with him, you’ve been so secretive. I don’t even know how you’re doing in school anymore.” Luche stared at her in absolute confusion before turning to look at the report card with straight A’s hanging on the fridge then back to her.

            “You can clearly see how I’m doing in school.” He gets up and takes his dishes to the sink. “I tell you if I’m going somewhere other than Nyx’s. Which is two doors down. You could literally yell from the porch and I’d hear you.”

            “Don’t take that tone with me.” Luche just sighed and sat on the couch to put on his running shoes. “You’re making me look like a bad mother.” He clenched his jaw as he tied his shoes.

            “Because that’s all that matters to you. What people think of you.” Luche stands up and faces his mother, trying desperately to not yell. “Not how your son is actually doing, or getting to know his friends, or even spending more time than just breakfast with him. Just how people perceive you.”

            “See? Nyx is a bad influence. You’d never dare talk back to me. You are to stop being friends with that boy immediately.” This is where he lost his temper, the moment he stood as straight as he could and stopped trying to keep his voice down.

            “That’s because dad was there so I wouldn’t have to! Why do you have to control everything? Why is the only reason things matter to you is based on how they affect your precious reputation? Why can’t you see this is why he left, Loralei?” Luche stormed towards the front door, now focused on just getting out of there.

            “Luche Lazarus, don’t you dare” he slammed the door on her words, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened them, he was surprised to find Nyx sitting on his front steps with his shoulders hunched. Luche didn’t even think Nyx was capable of looking so small or scared.

            “Do I really cause this much trouble between you and your mom?” With a sigh, he sat down as close as he could to the other boy and rested his elbows on his knees.

            “We fight at least once a week since dad left. Last time it was about her choice in movies.” The only movement Nyx made was to nod. Luche bit his lip as he tried to think of a way to actually comfort him. “Trust me, Ulric,” he grabbed the arm closest to him and wrapped it around his shoulders, leaning into Nyx. “You’d know if I thought you were actually a problem.” Nyx tightened the arm across Luche’s shoulders and looked at him this time. “I promise. Now let’s go. You of all people should know what your dad puts us through if we don’t do a morning run.” This actually got Nyx to smile at him.

            At lunch, Luche made sure to get double of everything. He was fairly certain that Nyx would keep stealing from his plate rather than eat what’s on his own. Libertus frowned at the amount of food, but made no comment on it. It was Crowe who said anything about how they were acting.

            “Alright, I know you two are attached at the hip but this is getting ridiculous.” Luche was right about Nyx not wanting to eat his own food. One day he’ll stop being surprised that Nyx just likes having an arm wrapped around Luche’s shoulders.

            “I had a fight with my mom. Nyx is just overbearingly letting me know that he’s there if I need him.” A tightening of the arm on his shoulders was all the warning he got before a pair of lips were pressed against his cheek.

            “That’s right, Lu. We’re together till the sun goes out.” Luche is pretty sure that the only one who didn’t note the absence of teasing in Nyx’s tone was Libertus. His only response was to grab a cookie and shove it into Nyx’s mouth as the others laughed.

            It was on the way back to Nyx’s that they spoke about the fight again. His arm was once again wrapped around Luche’s shoulders but this time Luche had one wrapped around his back as well. “You didn’t have to do what you did at lunch.”

            Luche just shrugged, “All I did was leave out the part where I made you feel insecure.” Nyx gave him a small smile before pulling him up the steps to the Ulric house, not giving him much of a choice.

            “Naz. Naz! Look! Told you!” While the context escaped Luche, he absolutely knew now who Nyx took after in the family. They looked at Nyx’s parents, his mom sitting on the couch looking fond and annoyed while his dad was almost bouncing up and down.

            “Solaris, this is ridiculous even by your standards.” She looked over at them and tried to give a smile. “Sol, you and Nyx go spar. I need Luche’s help with dinner and the six know no one else in the house has any cooking ability.” For the first time that day, Nyx willingly left Luche’s side much to his disappointment. He was getting used to him constantly within arm’s reach. Naz led him into the kitchen and pointed at the cutting board, “Mind doing the carrots?” As he got started chopping, he could hear her in moving behind him. “How was your run this morning?”

            Luche shrugged, “it was alright. Finally got him to let us take it easy for once.” A chuckle from by the stove. “How’s the store doing?”

            “I’m not naming names, but someone came in with a boil on his right buttcheek.” He had to laugh at that while shaking his head. “No idea how that happens. How was school?” Luche took a moment to answer as a small body collided into the side of his and he rested a hand on her head.

            “Hey, Selena. School was good. We kept getting yelled at for being more clingy than normal though.” The ten year old snuggled into his side as he got back to chopping. He was starting to get used to how touchy this family was. “Have you finished Thrones yet?”

            A rueful laugh, “no. Every time I go to read it, I have to hunt down whose nightstand it’s on. I’m not sure if you’ve cursed or blessed this family with that book.” A pause as she comes to collect what he’s cut up. “Why do you blame your mother for your father leaving?”

            Without even thinking about it, “Because I can’t figure out what I did to make him leave.” He slowly set the knife aside, lucky he hadn’t cut himself with it as he realized what he said. His movements still slow and careful, he wrapped an arm around Selena. “Why wasn’t I good enough for him to stay? I mean, I get perfect grades, didn’t used to get in trouble, and was a perfect shot. Why” Luche was interrupted by Naz pulling him into a hug.

            “Luche. Darling Lu. It’s not your fault. He was the one who decided to go, you did nothing wrong.” He clung to both of the Ulric women, barely noticing the tears easing their way down his cheeks. “As far as we are concerned, you are as much an Ulric as Nyx is. We could not be more proud of you.” Luche holds onto Naz and Selena tighter. Naz pulled away slightly to wipe away Luche’s tears. “We are here for you. Whenever and whatever you need.” Luche nodded just as Nyx burst through the back door.

            “Luche! Oh, Lu, I have been fatally wounded!” Nyx dramatically collapsed into his arms when they met halfway across the room, Luche searching for where Nyx was hurt before he held up his hand. “I don’t know how I’ll go on.”

            “Nyx, that’s a splinter.” Luche sniffed and brought Nyx’s hand closer for inspection and to figure out the best way to get it out.

            “I can already see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need you to know that while we may only have known each other a few short months,” Luche uses his thumbnail to gently ease the sliver of wood from Nyx’s palm and hands it to Naz to throw away, “I hold you in the greatest of regards.”

            “It was just a splinter and I’ve already gotten it out.” Nyx pauses to look at his hand, flexing his fingers a few times before continuing.

            “It is my greatest regret that I have to depart from this world, from you my dear friend. Please, continue on to greatness.” Luche just sighs and brings Nyx’s hand back closer to him. “The light, it’s getting brighter. I don’t know how much longer I have.” Luche presses a kiss to Nyx’s palm before looking down at him in exasperated fondness.

            “Better?”

            “Much. What’s for dinner?” Luche actually laughed at that. If it was a little harder than warranted, no one bothered to mention it. Though Naz does tell Solaris later that he might have a point about the pair.


	4. Chapter 4

            Luche doesn’t know when Naz went from being mrs. Ulric to ma, but he becomes aware of it on this fifteenth birthday. He just came from having breakfast with his own mother. Loralei did try to make him pancakes and tea, which he wound up taking over when he saw how much flour she was using. He does appreciate that she tried.

            “Happy birthday, Lu!” He scoops Selena up in a hug when she runs at him, laughing with her as they spin around. “This is going to be your best birthday ever!” There were times when the little girl would just make his day. How excited she was right now was one of them.

            “It already is with you to celebrate it, kiddo.” She giggled before letting out a huff when Nyx smashes into them, arms wrapping around them both and holding tight. “Good morning, Nyx.”

            “Happy birthday, Lu.” Nyx presses a cheek against Selena’s, forcing her to press her’s against Luche’s before her brother started nuzzling into it. It took Luche a second before he joined in, grinning at Selena’s laughter.

            “Naz, look! Our children are bonding!” He looks over to the kitchen long enough to see Solaris hug her from behind as she decorates a cake.

            “Yeah, Sol, I can see all three just as plainly as you can.” He’s a little surprised when she includes him in that but just holds onto the siblings a little tighter. “Don’t you all have chores to do?” A groan comes from nearly every Ulric. “Just because it’s a birthday doesn’t mean you all can slack off.” Luche clings to the siblings for a moment more, Nyx squeezing him gently, before he lets them both go and moves to the kitchen to help her.

            “At your service, ma.” It comes out naturally, like he’s been saying it all his life. He’s a little surprised since even his own mother has always been Loralei to him.

            “The soup needs stirring then check how the ice cream in the freezer is doing.” He moves to follow her instructions but she pulls him into a hug as he passes by her. “Happy birthday. It may not be what you’re used to, but we are so glad you are in this world.”

            Luche is a little ashamed with how hard he clings to her. “It’s more than I expected.” He pulls away and smiles at her. “Just being with you all makes it the best one I’ve had.” She gives him a look before pushing him towards the stove.

            “Here I thought Nyx was the one with a flair for the dramatics.” He laughed, glancing out the window to see Nyx trying to explain the garden to Selena. His smile softened at the sight. “You should just tell him already. You two belong together and I get a new dishwasher if you do it before you’re both sixteen.” Luche chokes on air at this, not expecting Naz of all people to be pushing him and Nyx together.

            “There’s no way he likes me like that. We might always be together, but romance is out of the question.” He pretends not to notice the disbelieving look she throws at him. “Who are you betting on this with anyway?”

            “Right now it’s just Solaris, Lani, and Valence. Though Crowe and Libertus have bets on when the two of you will kiss.” The usual suspects then. “Looks like Valence is going to be right. I was so looking forward to actually having clean dishes without conning you and Nyx into doing them.” Luche’s turn for the disbelieving look.

            “Because ‘can you boys do the dishes’ is so manipulative.” He wraps up stirring and moves to the freezer. “Isn’t there supposed to be ice cream in here, ma?” A hand starts pushing aside packages of peas and chicken to show the carton of ice cream, but it was the body that had Luche leaning back.

            “She hides it or else dad will eat it all.” Luche closes his eyes and hugs the arm around his waist. “It’s like, ten. Are you really still this tired?” Nyx wraps his other arm around him, holding him as close as he can.

            “Someone kept me up last night with reading to them.” There was a smile against the side of his neck.

            “I’ve got some reading to do for class. I’ll return the favor.” Naz called out when lunch would be but Luche was too content with Nyx walking them towards his room to pay attention. It took Nyx some coaxing to get Luche to let go and lie down. “Let me go grab the book. I’ll be right back.” Luche curled around the pillow and was back asleep before Nyx made it back with the book. “Or we could just nap. That works too.” When he does wake up, he’s fairly certain by the sunset that they missed lunch. The arm around him loosens when he goes to roll over.

            “Why didn’t you wake me up?” “Who am I to tell you that you can’t sleep the day away on your own birthday?” The book he was reading set aside and a hand starts combing through Luche’s hair. “Besides, you look exhausted. You’ve been staying up late to proofread Libertus and Crowe’s essays.” He doesn’t bother denying Nyx’s accusation.

            “Lib has been busy running off with that girl from the plantation. Crowe is just,” he pauses to try to figure out his excuse for going over her homework, “Crowe.” He moves his head onto Nyx’s chest when the other starts laughing.

            “You aren’t wrong. She is intense when it comes to getting her way.” More hair petting and he snuggles into his friend. “You called my mom ‘ma’, you don’t even call your own mother some form of mom.” Luche just yawns as he wraps an arm around Nyx. “You aren’t going to answer me, are you?” He closes his eyes once again, pretending not to hear what was being said. “You suck. Wake up.”

            “I thought you weren’t going to tell me what to do today?” The hand in his hair stops and he might actually be pouting about that.

            “We need to eat at some point and I’d rather not wait until our mother unleashes Selena into my room.” Having been on the receiving end of the girl jumping on the bed to wake them up, he’s inclined to agree.


	5. Chapter 5

            Luche is there when they get the news of Solaris’s death. He’s there bringing food he’s made so that Naz doesn’t need to worry about what they were going to eat. He’s there when Selena screams about wanting her father and when Nyx drops down onto his bed from exhaustion after working the fields all day. He tries to be there as much as they allow him to be because he wants nothing more than to ease their pain as best he can. It actually hurts when Nyx is the one who yells at him for it.

            “We don’t need you.” Luche only pauses for a second before continuing to put containers of food into the fridge. “Didn’t you hear me? We don’t need your pity.”

            “That’s not what this is.” He does miss how Nyx would cling to him, making it difficult to move about the room. He understands the desire to not want to be touched by anyone. “This is just me doing what I can to help.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

            “We don’t need it. We don’t want it.” He turns when he hears the slight hiccup in Nyx’s voice. “We can make it through this on our own.” Luche gently closes the fridge door and moves closer to the other boy.

            “I know you can, but that doesn’t mean that I want you to.” He cautiously hugs Nyx, eyes closing at how hard the hug gets returned. “I’m just trying to let you know that you aren’t alone. This is the best way that I can think of.”

            “Maybe we don’t want you to be.” Luche can almost feel a physical ache in his chest.

            “Yeah, well tough. I’d go to the moon and back for any one of you so deal with it.” Nyx clings harder to him, adding to the already heavy weight Luche can feel. “You can keep trying to push me away, but I’m not going anywhere.”

            “I don’t want to lose anyone else.” Logically he knows he can’t hold Nyx closer that what they are already doing, but by the six does he want to.

            “You won’t. I’ll find a way to take down the empire if that’s what will keep our family together.” He runs a hand through Nyx’s hair when he feels his shirt start to grow damp. “I love all three of you. I miss Sol just as much as you do. Please let me be here for you.” Naz finds them about an hour later. Luche is sat back up against the fridge and Nyx curled in his lap, cheeks tear stained and sleeping peacefully for once. He takes his hand off Nyx long enough to squeeze her hand when she reaches for them.

            “Thank you, Luche. He’s going to need you to be there for him now more than ever.” He doesn’t even hesitate when he nods. “I’m going to be here for all of you. He’s important, but so are you and Selena.” He’s sort of surprised when she sits down next to them, moving Nyx’s legs to lay across her lap.

            “Everything is fine, Ulric.” Nyx stops his fidgeting and drops back into sleep as Naz leans against him. He’ll never know which one he was saying that to. It only took half an hour for Selena to join their pile, but it took another hour afterwards for Luche to lull Nyx back into sleep. They all stay like that for the rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

            “I wish I was your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves.” He doesn’t even look up from his homework at that one.

            “That one would work better if we didn’t cling to each other all the time.” He can hear Nyx huff and move around on the bed.

            “I don't know if you're in my range, but I'd sure like to take you back to my domain.”

            Luche does look over his shoulder to raise an eyebrow. “That one would work if we weren’t in your room.”

            “This is a lot more fun when you’re complaining or trying to not laugh.” He gets a view of Nyx sprawling out onto his stomach and pouting at him.

            A shrug before he goes back to his math, “choose a sexier subject to do this with then. Calculus is not sexy. It’s hell.”

            “I’d offer to help but I’m pretty sure that would mean I’d have to actually show up to class to understand.” He jumped slightly when he felt a poke to the back of his arm.

            “Why did you have to get taller? I used to do homework with only you vocally bothering me.” Another poke, but to his side this time. “You’ve got bigger things on your mind.”

            “Wow, Lu, how’d you know I was thinking about you?” Luche just sighs and restarts the problem he’s working on. “In case you weren’t sure, I was talking about your penis.”

            “Yes, I got that. Thank you, Nyx.” He does put his pencil down and turns towards the bed. “This would go faster if you stopped distracting me.”

            “I wish I was your problem set, because then I'd be really hard, and you'd be doing me on the desk.” Nyx needs to work on his innocent face.

            A disappointed sigh, “you didn’t even try with that one.” Nyx looks slightly offended at that.

            “You said it yourself that math isn’t sexy. I’m doing my best here.”

            “Your beauty cannot be spanned by a finite basis of vectors.” It came out flat and mildly annoyed.

            "Ok, fine. You have me there. I’ll go bother Selena while you finish.”

            “It shouldn’t be more than an hour.” True to his word, it was only forty five minutes later when he finished his homework. Naz was leaning against the back door, watching Nyx and Selena spar. “They finally started back up again?” She nods, eyes still focused on them.

            “He sure has shot up like a weed.”

            “Yeah he has.” The appreciation in his tone had him blushing and Naz has the same amused face Nyx gets when Luche says something dirty on accident. “That was supposed to come out much differently.”

            “So was Nyx. Though frantically shouting ‘I don’t know I like dick’ when his sister was asking him about girls made for an entertaining dinner.” He choked on his laugh.

            “This is why I should never miss dinners. Poor guy can’t handle his sister’s one track mind without me.” He shakes his head before his eyes widen slightly. “Wait, Nyx is into guys?” Naz just stares at him like he’s the biggest idiot in the world. He very well might be.

            He could’ve done without her incredulous tone, “we have bets on the two of you. How did you think he wasn’t gay?”

            “I don’t know, he just” A vague gesture towards Nyx as his words escape him. “I just assumed he was into girls.” She actually face palms.

            “You are…I have no words for what you are right now.” He’s pretty sure he’s about to self-combust with how hot his cheeks are. “While we’re on the subject, what about you? What is my darling Lu attracted to?”

            “Nyx.” He genuinely isn’t sure if it’s Nyx or guys in general, but he’s never felt the need to look beyond Nyx.

            “Just him? No one else catches your eye even for a second?” She sounded curious but he lost the ability to look her in the eye for the moment so he keeps watching the pair outside.

            “You seriously think there would or even could be anyone else when they have to go up against him? He’s an annoying, clingy prick but he’s my annoying, clingy prick.” He leans against the glass of the door and shrugs. “He’s not going to want me like that, but I can deal as long as I got him at my side.” Naz pulls him away from the door and cups his face, forcing him to look at her.

            “Pay close attention to what I’m about to say.” He nods as he hears the door open. “You are my son, my sweet darling Lu. I am very proud of you for being top of your class. You are the biggest moron to walk this earth.”

            “Why is mom insulting LuLu?”

            “If I had to guess, it would because she thinks he’s the biggest moron to walk this earth.” They look over in time to see Selena smack Nyx on the arm. “What did you expect me to say? We literally had the same amount of context for it.” Luche loves this family more than he cares to admit.


	7. Chapter 7

            “Come meet her. You’d all like her.” They have all met Libertus’s girl. She was awful. Luche watched Nyx skips yet another rock across the water as the rest were spread out drinking beer stolen from Libertus’s parents.

            “We have met her. None of us like her.” Leave it to Crowe to not spare any one. She playfully kicked at Libertus’s leg. “I bet even Luche doesn’t remember her name.”

            “It starts with a B, right?” He knows all too well her name was Bella. The number of times he’s found himself in her company was more than he liked.

            “Only if her name is secretly Bitch.” They’ve all started letting Nyx get away with being meaner than usual. Though it does take him shaking his head at Libertus to stop him from yelling at Nyx.

            “Nyx, your dick is showing. Tuck it away.” Luche at least gets a sheepish look from Nyx at that with a quick ‘sorry’ tossed over his shoulder to Libertus. “Though he has a point, Lib.”

            The huff he receives confirms they are stuck with this woman being a part of their lives, “you three just refuse to spend enough time to make her comfortable.” She called Nyx’s garden stupid and unmanly of him to be taking care of it. He’s pretty sure she’s just awful. “Decided to officially drop out of school yet?”

            A shrug, “harvest isn’t for another couple of months and ma barely makes enough to cover the bills.” It wasn’t an answer, but it did have Luche standing up and moving so he was next to Nyx.

            “What he’s saying is that he’s too busy hunting and riding Luche to make it to class.” He regrets helping Crowe find her confidence since she somehow equated it to being as crude as possible.

            A drink before offering the bottle to Nyx who shakes his head and skips another rock. “I wish. At least then I’d see him more outside of killing jabberwocks and griffins.” He immediately closes his eyes when he realizes what came out of his mouth.

            Nyx paused in his rock throwing, “Luche-smuche, you saying you want to fuck me?” The smirk and laugh in his voice has Luche almost pushing him into the lake.

            “No, I’m saying it wouldn’t kill you to be around the family more. I’m pretty sure little Selena is succeeding in her campaign to kill the basil.” He takes a drink and decides to go for it. “Besides, your ass is like all the six got together just to gift mankind with something beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to have sex with it? Even if you do hide it in Libertus’s hand me downs.” He’s relatively certain that this is Nyx rubbing off on him since he’s only on his second beer.

            “He’s right. That is a butt even the draconian himself is jealous of.” Luche pointed towards Libertus and raised his eyebrows, his look screaming ‘see, the straight guy agrees with me.’ With a shake of his head, Nyx goes back to skipping rocks.

            “Say what you will, Lu, but we all know you want a piece of this.” He hands a rock to Luche. “Record is five. All my gil is tied up in food and clothes for Selena. I can survive living in clothes where I’d rather not think about how the stains came to be.” Luche flicks his wrist, only managing four skips from the rock.

            “Hey, mom washed them before I gave them to you.” The look the three gave him showed just how full of shit they all thought he was.

            There was a shrug as Nyx looked back to him. “Besides, they’d be your pants I’m wearing if you weren’t so short.”

            “You want in my pants, Ulric? All you had to do was say please.” It came out as flat as he could make it. More in an attempt to try to hide that yes, yes he did very much want Nyx in his pants.

            “I told you, any day now Nyx is going to snap and go for it.”

            “Please.” Luche takes Nyx’s hand and just puts in his back pocket. Nyx for his part just nods. “I should have seen that coming and I hate you.”

            “I’m telling you, it won’t be until after Nyx’s birthday and Luche is going to be the one to instigate it.”

            “The hell are you two going on about?” Luche raises an eyebrow at the other pair.

            Crowe snorts, “When you two are finally going to stop pretending and just make out.”

            “What makes you so sure we will?”

            “Asks the shirtless guy with his hand still in Luche’s pocket.”

            “Point taken.” He looks back down to Luche who mildly fears he’s going to be stuck being so much shorter than Nyx. “Do we really act like boyfriends?” He can’t believe that’s actually a question.

            “Nyx, I’m fairly certain the only reason I slept alone in the past few months was because I was back in the city.”

            “Oh, I was there. That was the flan hunt I told you about. I just couldn’t find you.” A shrug and he realizes Nyx’s hand is still in his pocket.

            “You have my grandmother’s address, how were you not able to find me?”

            “I have so many questions about you two and have no idea where to start.” Crowe sounded equal parts intrigued and scared.

            Nyx started gesturing wildly with his hand, “the city is huge! I was lucky I even found the spot where the flans were showing up.”

            “It’s probably best if we just don’t even try to understand the two of them.” Libertus actually sounded defeated.

            “No, I know where to start. Why is Nyx’s hand still in Luche’s pocket?”

            “Because maybe I think his ass is swell.” Luche does push Nyx into the lake this time though he should’ve seen it coming when Nyx was pulling him in too. “Lu, if you wanted to see me soaking wet, you just had to say so. We could’ve saved water by showering together.” Luche’s brain got a little sidetracked by the abs under his hands to have a clever reply.

            “In your dreams, Ulric.” Crowe just whistled at them when the climbed back up the bank.

            “Someone got distracted.” He smirked as he made his way over to her. “Luche, don’t you dare.” He dared, wrapping his arms around her and pressing close as she tried to get away. “You jerk! Lake water smell never comes out.” She did her best to try to dry her now drenched shirt.

            Luche just shrugs nonchalantly, “Brought it on yourself.”


	8. Chapter 8

            He does his best to ignore Crowe kicking his seat. They’re in the middle of an exam, he can’t afford the interruption she’s trying to cause. Though he should’ve known better since she’s the only one who doesn’t try to stop him from doing his work.

            “Luche, look outside.” He shakes his head only to receive a rather violent kick to the back of his chair. “You need to see this. Now.” A part of him regrets it as soon as he sees Nyx leaning against his father’s beaten up truck wearing pants that actually fit, like a second skin in certain areas, and work boots that are clean. The louder part has him bolting out of the room and through the halls, ignoring or dodging everyone that tries to stop him. The only thing that does stop him are the girls crowding around his Nyx.

            “Someone like you deserves to be seen with someone beautiful on his arm.” He knew her. She was the one everyone is sure she’ll go on to be a model or actress. A part of him could see the appeal. She was tall, red haired, and had a classical type of beauty to her. Honestly, it’s just because how well he knows Nyx that he can see how uncomfortable he is with the situation.

            “Sorry ladies, but my heart already belongs to the most beautiful person. Even if he doesn’t return the feeling.”

            “I’m not sure about the beautiful part, but I can assure you that he does want you just as much.” The kiss is slightly awkard, Nyx too stiff and Luche still too short despite having grown since they last saw each other. After a second though he has hands on his waist and it becomes the best thing he’s ever done.

            When they do finally come up for air, long after the girls are gone, “how’d you know?” Luche slid the sunglasses up Nyx’s face to rest on top of his head, needing to see his eyes.

            “Your parents have been trying to get us together since we met.” He could actually feel Nyx’s smile with the next kiss. “Also, I just took the risk because you looked uncomfortable.” There is no way he’s ever going to stop kissing this guy. It already far too addicting. He now gets why Libertus would stay with someone as awful as Bella.

            The teasing grin as Nyx pulled him closer, “so are you finally admitting to wanting me?”

            “I’ve wanted you since I first heard your name.” His hand does slip from the back of Nyx’s neck to his chest, thumb already starting a lazy arc of stroking. He wasn’t expecting the soft look from Nyx.

            One of Nyx’s hands left his waist to cover the one on his chest. “Someone call the presses. Luche Lazarus is a sap.”

            “Do you want me to keep kissing you? Because this is how I stop kissing you.” There was no intention of following through with that threat because, by the six, finally getting to this point was intoxicating.

            “No. no no no, Lu. All the kisses. And more. You and I.”

            “I left a test for you.” Nyx laughed as he pressed another kiss to Luche’s lips. “Knock it off. It isn’t my fault I discovered there was sin made flesh waiting for me outside.” No, he knows that grin and does not want what’s about to come out of the other’s mouth.

            “Sine made flesh, huh?”

            “No, it wasn’t a math test. Don’t you dare.” Nyx laughing might be his favorite sound ever.

            Another kiss, “you get off easy this time only because you have a way to distract me.”

            “We need to go before they come drag me back inside.” He looked over his shoulder to see the principal exiting the school. Nyx opens the driver’s door and urges Luche into the truck. They don’t bother to come back to pick up Libertus and Crowe. It was actually not until after Nyx snuck into Luche’s room that they talk about the changes to their relationship. The grin on his face more than made up for the trouble Luche got into with his mother.

            In a quiet voice as Nyx climbs through his window, “sorry if I woke you up, Lu. It just felt weird without you lying next to me.” He reaches out for Nyx when he’s close enough to grab.

            “Shoes off, you barbarian.” He waits just long enough for the other to kick his shoes off to pull him closer. “We don’t sleep apart when you’re in town. It should feel weird.” The kiss started off as hesitant until Nyx wrapped himself around Luche.

            “You’re going to get in trouble for what you did today.” For the first time Luche is now witnessing Nyx caring whether or not he got in trouble. The apocalypse must be soon.

            He licks his lips, “maybe I should follow your example and drop out. Join you hunting full time.” He already knows what Nyx is going to say before he says it.

            “Out of the question.” Nyx nuzzles into his cheek. “Finish school, go to college. I’ll hunt you. We’ll live together and life will be great. We might even get a cat.” This told him just how tired Nyx actually was because Luche knows he can do better than that.

            A sigh before just plunging into it, “we should probably talk about how this changes things.”

            “You’re my boyfriend. I’m yours. Later we’ll bang, ok?” That made him laugh softly.

            “Yeah, ok.” Another kiss. “Goodnight, Nyx.”

            “Night, Lu.”


	9. Chapter 9

            Luche crawled back up to lie down next to Nyx only to get pulled down onto his chest, “I hate that you grew. I used to be able to curl around you and now you’re almost my height. This isn’t fair. You can’t be taller and broader than me.” This man is unbelievable sometimes.

            He scoffs at this, “I just blew you and you’re complaining about my height?”

            “And it was awesome. I just miss having a tiny boyfriend. Little pocket Luche.” Nyx’s hand was running the length of his spine and kissed the top of his head. Luche drummed his fingers against Nyx’s chest.

            “Are you going to break up with me because I’m not short anymore?”

            “No, you’re stuck with me for life. I’m just bemoaning that picking you up is now harder.” He can’t help the snort of amusement that came out of him.

            “We both know you can still pick me up.” Pick him up, toss him onto a bed, pin him to a wall. Yeah, Nyx can still manhandle him with ease.

            “But it’s harder.” It came out as a whine that he didn’t feel the need to respond to. They just laid quietly, listening to the rain on the canvas over their heads. “You remember the first time we went hunting alone together?”

            Another amused huff. “You mean when you forgot the camping gear and the food so I had to figure out how we were to survive going across the entire island to that damn jabberwock? No, I don’t recall.”

            “First, I’m supposed to be the smartass not you.” A poke to a side that has him squirming. “Second, yes. That one.”

            “What about it?” He snuggles back into Nyx’s chest and feels the mood shift from their usual playfulness into something more somber and serious.

            Nyx sounded nostalgic as he goes back to stroking Luche’s spine. “You made the tent out of leaves and an old tarp we found. Not a single drop of rain got in, and it sounded different than this.”

            “That’s probably because of the different thicknesses and materials. The organic matter of the leaves actually” He couldn’t help the word vomit of an explanation that started to happen.

            “Lu, I’m trying to tell you something and be romantic.”

            “Sorry.”

            “That was the first night you and I slept in the same space without anyone else around. I know we slept in the same bed before then enough to know how you like to start off cuddled up on my chest but we always wake up to you spooning me. It was different. There were no parents or siblings to sneak around and everything was just calm. We were on a mission to avenge my dad and get back as much of him as we could. Something you didn’t hesitate once in helping me do, and I honestly couldn’t have succeeded at the time without you.”

            His heart clenched at this, at the thought of Nyx seeing him as vital. “Nyx.”

            “But that first night, seeing you curled up on my scrawny ass chest was the best thing in my life at the time. You reminded me that trip that I wasn’t alone in trying to take care of everyone. You made me realize that you were willing to face death just to support me.”

            “Nyx.” He doesn’t deserve Nyx. He doesn’t know what he did to get him, but he knows for sure that he doesn’t deserve him.

            “I think now this is the best thing in my life. No crusade for vengeance, no traumatic event pushing us into this position. Just you curled up on my chest and you are no longer there. Why are you in my face?” Luche kisses him, hard at first but softens it once Nyx starts to respond. “Oh, that’s a good reason to be in my face.”

            “Nyx Ulric, you are the single most frustrating, annoying, sweetest, beautiful man on this entire planet. When you go off hunting I worry myself sick about whether you make it back or not. I don’t know what I did to warrant your attention, but I thank the six every day for it.” He laughs softly once he realizes just how far he’d go for Nyx. “You could tell me that you want to move across the world to Accordio to start a farm and I would follow you in a heartbeat.”

            “They do have good soil.” He kisses him again just to get rid of that damn smirk.

            “And you shushed me for ruining the moment.”

            The laughter in his voice has Luche trying to no join in, “I refuse to be upstaged.”

            “I repeat, the single most frustrating and annoying human on this planet.” He’s marginally proud about how he kept his voice flat for that.

            “You’re missing a few adjectives there.” That does manage to get a chuckle out of him.

            “Shut up and fuck me, Ulric.”

            “No, would rather hear your explanation on why it sounds different.”

            “Seriously?”

            “Yeah. I want to see if I can distract you while you do it.” Nyx was successful in distracting him. It wasn’t until later when Luche was almost asleep on his chest that he spoke up. “Hey, Lu?”

            “Go to sleep, Nyx.” He just wanted to sleep. Why wouldn’t Nyx just let him sleep?

            “I was thinking about Libertus and Bella. Like, objectively, she’s a solid 9 and he’s like a 4. How did he end up with her? It can’t be his winning personality. It can’t be her’s either.”

            “Go. To. Sleep.” No, really, Luche didn’t want to be thinking about Libertus and Bella when he’s lying naked and pressed up against Nyx.

            “No, seriously. He has a personality and she’s just a rude bitch. Every time she opens her mouth it’s just insult after insult. She expects us to pay for everything even though she can see that most of us aren’t well off like her. She called my garden stupid and said Selena is the one who should be taking care of it. They’d be dead in a week if she needed to do more than water.”

            “Nyx, I swear I will not touch you for the rest of this trip if you don’t go the fuck to sleep.”

            “Yeah, alright, fine.”

            He felt a hand grabbing his butt and just sighed, “Groping my ass is not sleeping.”


	10. Chapter 10

            “Why are you throwing that away? You love it.” The band poster he was about to toss was so creased and faded that you could barely tell what it was anymore. He drops it into the bin and absentmindedly scratches at the stitches on his shoulder. “Stop that. Ma is already mad that I let you get bit let alone how many times she’s had to redo the stitches.”

            “You know I can pack my stuff by myself, right?” He can’t really blame Naz for her irritation at how often he pulls out his stitches. The sawtooth getting a hold of him was nothing more than an accident though. “Honestly, Nyx, I know we’re moving in together, but I’m just doing small stuff right now. No heavy lifting, no chance of hurting myself.”

            Nyx’s voice is just as weak as the excuse he gives. “Ma doesn’t want you reaching above your head.” Luche sighs softly when he feels lips pressed against the skin surrounding his wound and arms around his waist. He looks at the sapphire eyes peeking over his shoulder up at him. It doesn’t take long for him to start humming and swaying them along to the song in his head.

            “I can find the whole meaning of life in those sad eyes.” He sings softly, grinning at how Nyx’s eyes light up at the sound. “They've seen things that you never quite say, but I hear.” Nyx has to stop him from reaching up to thread a hand through his hair with a soft kiss to his injured shoulder as explanation. “Come out of hiding, I'm right here beside you, and I'll stay there as long as you let me.” Nyx spins him around with a grin on his face that never fails to make Luche’s day better. “Because you matter to me, simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody, you matter to me” His hand is on the back of Nyx’s neck with the other holding onto his bicep when they get interrupted.

            “Luche.” Nyx presses their foreheads together with an annoyed sigh when Loralei speaks up from the doorway. “I would rather you two didn’t while you’re here.” The only movement either of them make is to turn their heads slightly to look at her.

            “Ah, yes. The dreaded dancing together. A crime most heinous.” There are times when Luche can understand his mother’s hatred of Nyx. “No fun or music allowed in these hallowed walls.”

            He does shake his head. “Nyx, stop.” Luche pulls away enough to turn towards his mother, though he leaves his hand on the back of Nyx’s neck. “We were just taking a break from packing. Nothing more.”

            “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me back to the city? We can find you a good culinary school.” He’s lost count how many times she’s tried to get him to go with her. “You won’t get almost eaten.”

            “My life is here, Loralei. Nyx, Selena, Ma, Crowe, Libertus, they’re all here. We’ve got an apartment in town, and I start at the Hole next week.” He squeezes the back of Nyx’s neck when he giggles bar’s name.             “You know I’ll come visit and I’ll write. Even call if we find ourselves someplace with a reliable phone.” She presses her lips into a thin line, but nods as she turns to make her way back into the living room. Nyx pulls him close once again.

            “Why does she keep trying to get you to move to the city? I think you guys talk about it at least three times a day.” He actually laughs when Nyx stops him from wrapping his right arm around his shoulders. “No, seriously, stop trying to reach up. Ma isn’t sure she got all the teeth out.”

            “No, seriously, I’m fine.” He does settle for wrapping his arm around Nyx’s waist and pressing his face to the side of his neck. “I don’t know. Doesn’t want to leave her only son, doesn’t like that I’m choosing to be a bartender instead of going to college, doesn’t like you or the fact I’m choosing to live in a shit apartment above a bakery with you.” He feels Nyx bounce a little.

            “Lu, we’re moving into a shit apartment above a bakery together. You and me.” That lasts a month before Luche and Nyx in the apartment became Luche, Nyx, Crowe, and Libertus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the song Luche sings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XaqdujF23g
> 
> Also, wasn't going to post today but got so excited that I got a comment that I did anyways. Here's to you Kajitsu.


	11. Chapter 11

            Luche wasn’t counting on being sent home early since the bar was slower than normal that day. He hadn’t wanted to be sent home early. Sure it meant he had less money but more time to cook dinner for everyone. It also meant he had to deal with Libertus’s wife. He remembers how hard they tried to talk him out of it when he said he was going to purpose, how they all pointed out how bad of a person she was and how badly she treats him. He remembers how Nyx hadn’t smiled at all on their wedding day and how sex between them had been rough to the point where even Crowe skipped her usual jokes to ask if Luche was ok.  
            He leaned against the wall as he toed off his boots that were sticky with something he’d rather not try to identify. “I see you’ve decided to partake in day drinking with your customers.” Her tone was just as arrogant as ever but the location of it was what pissed him off the most. She was sat on the edge of the bed he shared with Nyx. The bed that was tucked into the corner of the living room after they lost the bedroom to Libertus in a game of poker.  
            “Bella. I’ve had a shit day of cleaning up vomit and alcohol. I’m missing Nyx to the point where I just want to lay in the bed that you can get off of voluntarily or I can remove you from it.” He wasn’t hired to be the day bartender because of his ability to mix drinks, that was for sure, and this woman was a lot smaller than most the people he has to deal with. “I don’t want to hear it.”  
            She just scoffs, but gets up from the bed nevertheless. “Right, Nyx the freeloader. How much longer are you two going to keep up this disgusting charade?” He wasn’t entirely positive how anyone could think their relationship was just an act. There was no way anyone but this woman could think Nyx and he weren’t in a real relationship.  
            “What did you just call our relationship?” Luche is not proud of how he jumped at Nyx’s voice or the sight of him walking out of the bathroom. The only thing that didn’t surprise him about his boyfriend’s sudden appearance was how he came out in just boxers. “Because I’m really hoping for Libertus’s sake you didn’t just call it a disgusting charade.” There were a few things you didn’t talk bad about when Nyx was around. She tends to be able to hit the trifecta of his family, Luche, and his friends in a single conversation.  
            “I know the walls in this poor excuse for an apartment are thin enough that you heard exactly what I said. Day in and day out I have to deal with you two constantly all over each other. It’s an abomination.” He just wanted to take a shower, cook food, and sleep. That was it. Why of all days is she picking now to do this?  
            “An abomination? I’ll tell you what a disgusting abominations is. It’s” he cuts off Nyx’s tirade before it gets started with a hand on his chest. Nyx stares at him for a second before wrapping an arm around his waist and covering the hand on his chest. “She shouldn’t be allowed to get away with acting like she does.”  
            A shake of Luche’s head. “She isn’t important, babe.”  
            “Don’t ignore me.”  
            His only reply to that was, “Nyx literally puts the vegetables and meat we eat on the table which is more than we can say for you.” He gives Nyx a slight push back to the bathroom, “Help me clean up. Zeb’s caravan got in last night and my life has been nothing but puke.” Nyx makes a face but goes easily, closing the door behind them before forcing Luche to lean back against it.  
            “You’re just as bad as he is when it comes to letting her get away with things.” He puts his hands on Nyx’s hips and pulls them flush together. “You’re all but saying it’s ok for her to insult us. Do you even want there to be an us, Lu?” Nyx looked slightly panicked at his own question.  
            Luche just sighed heavily. “Loralei stopped by the bar today. She still hates you.” He does feel bad at the slight fear creeping onto Nyx’s face, but he doesn’t let go of his hips. “Apparently one of her friend’s sons from the city has been asking about me and when I was coming back. She stormed out when I told her that I was too busy wearing the one shirt you do wear occasionally because it was the last thing I had that smelled like you and pining to be thinking about dates.” It took a second for Nyx to realize what he was trying to say.  
            “You let her do this because your mother is actually important and you want to focus your energy on her.” Luche nodded. “You could’ve just said that.” He said as he turned on the shower.  
            “It goes better if I give you an example and let you work it out.” At this he does push the other away and starts stripping down. “I love you to the moon and back, Nyx. You know this. If I want to be with you shouldn’t even be a question. Now, you have been gone for two months. You can either join me for shower cuddles or you can go wait on our bed.” Nyx dropping his boxers and stepping under the spray was answer enough. Luche isn’t sure if the groan was from the warm water or his love wrapping his arms around his waist and hooking a chin over his shoulder.  
            “I don’t get how they do it, Crowe.”  
            “What? Fit in that shower together? Probably the same way they sleep in that bed they outgrew. Limbs all tangled up, Luche somehow managing to make himself small enough to sleep on top of Nyx.”  
            “No, not that. Wait, how do you know that?”  
            “My bed is the couch, Lib. Or did you forget I lived here too?”  
            “I meant how they just understand each other.”  
            “It’s Luche and Nyx. It actually seems strange to think we went fourteen years without our dynamic duo.”  
            Luche started the slow process of washing that always came with having Nyx in there with him. More often than not because the man had wondering hands and Luche has trouble saying no to him. Tonight he seemed content to just hold onto him. “We really should find someplace bigger and closer to where the hunts are. Or at least a place with thicker walls.” The arms around his waist tightened.  
            “I’m sorry hunting takes so long now. I keep having to venture further and further out to find anything aside from the occasional demonspawn on the island. You know if I could, I’d just live off my portion of the harvest.” Luche stops the sentence with a kiss to the corner of his mouth.  
            “But you still need to help support ma and Selena, and no you won’t accept money from me so I tutor and spar with Selena and help ma around the house. Yeah, I know.” There was a laugh into the proper kiss Nyx drags him into.  
            With a grin, “you know we’ve had this fight too often if you can rehash it almost verbatim.” They both laughed at the groan from Libertus in the next room.  
            “See? They’re biggest fight is over them supporting each other. I do everything I can to give her what she wants, to be there for when she wants to try something new. What am I doing wrong?” At that moment they all realize what kind of relationship Libertus has found himself in. They all knew she was a bad person, but hadn’t known it was this bad.  
            “Oh, Lib.”  
            Nyx just snuggles in to his neck and Luche leans back against him. Both squeeze their eyes shut. “Lu.”  
            “I know, Nyx. We’ll figure out a way.” A deep breath before he turns around in Nyx’s arms to whisper “maybe for now thin walls aren’t such a bad thing.”


	12. Chapter 12

            It started off as a joke. Libertus teasing him about how Nyx’s hunting trips are just getting longer and longer. Crowe jumping in to paint the picture of a boy in the city, nice apartment, nice clothes that Nyx is always running off to be with. For the first couple weeks Luche can brush it off with a quick comment about how clingy he is when he’s home. They learn quickly to not joke about it after two weeks into him being gone. The thought of Nyx having someone else didn’t really take hold until he missed most of Libertus’s divorce.  
            His own mother didn’t help matters. Luche knows better than to go to Loralei when they’re having problems, but there’s something to be said about running to his own mother for comfort. He loves Naz, and knows he should go to her for guidance but he’s starting to feel like an intruder when he goes there while Nyx is away. He knows it’s a bit of a trip to the capitol to see his mother, but it doesn’t stop him from taking the time off work to do it. She has him thinking his fear is justified before he heads back home. It makes what he’s feeling and thinking worse since he learns that Nyx was in the city the entire time and still doesn’t come home until a week after Luche returns.  
            It isn’t until one of the rare occasions Nyx is actually home that things break lose. He hadn’t meant for it to happen at breakfast or with Crowe and Libertus there to witness it. He had planned on talking with him as soon as the other two left for work. As with everything that involves Nyx Ulric, it just sort of happens.  
            “I’m leaving this afternoon.” It’s an off handed comment that sets him off. One meant just to tell them of his schedule.  
            How hard he grips the spatula leaves him with white knuckles and he’s pretty the metal handle left a cut. “Of course you are.” It comes out unsurprisingly bitter and angry.

            "What’s that supposed to mean, Lu?” He turns around just in time to see both Crowe and Libertus look between the two before slowly moving away from the table.  
            “The fuck you think it means?” He snaps.  
            Nyx glares at him, “I think you’re accusing me of something.”  
            “Hard not to when we were in the same place at the same time and you made no effort to even have a meal with me, let alone let me know you were even there to begin with.” He knows he should calm down, but right now all he feels like doing is screaming.  
Nyx is now out of his chair, leaning with his hands on top of the table, “I told you I was busy.”  
            “Yes, busy shoving your dick into someone else. You’re going to be here maybe twelve hours if I’m lucky before running off to do that some more and I won’t see you for months.” The disbelief on Nyx’s face makes Luche want to punch him.  
            “You think I’m fucking instead of hunting?”  
            That wasn’t a denial. “What else am I supposed to think? I know you’re getting my letters since you keep them with the date you get them scrawled on it. You’re gone for months with barely any communication.”  
            “I keep them so I can read them whenever I miss you. What are you doing going through my bag?” He knows Nyx knows the answer to that since he helps fold the clothes.  
            “Laundry, you know that. Don’t change the subject. You can’t even be bothered to respond to them half the time. What, don’t want your new boytoy to find out you’re supposed to be in a committed relationship?”  
            “I’m hunting. You know I have to go farther out for that and I can’t always respond.”  
            “Yet mine always seem to reach you, regardless.” Nyx opens and closes his mouth a few times, and Luche turns away from him to face the stove once more. “I think we should take a break.” He isn’t sure why he said this since the thought of Nyx being anything other than his made him feel nauseous.  
            “Fine. Who wants someone like you anyways?” If Luche had been paying attention he would’ve seen the exact moment Nyx realized what he just said to him and the couple of attempts he made to call out to Luche, to apologize, to comfort, but no sound made it out of his mouth. He would’ve seen Nyx put a couple of Luche’s shirts into his bag, the hesitation at the door. Crowe wound up needing to turn off the stove and lead him over to the couch so they could sit in shock. Her for hearing them break up and Luche for Nyx’s parting words.


	13. Chapter 13

            A month later had Libertus and Crowe convincing him to follow them to Insomnia. To try to distance himself from the ache in his chest that feels just a fresh as when the fight happened. Though while the others joined the kingslgaive, he joined the crownsguard. It wasn’t in an attempt to avoid Nyx, he just didn’t show any evidence that he could wield the king’s magic like the others. Though the marshall seemed more than pleased with his skill as far as he could read Cor. It was a month after he joined that he was stuck guarding the crystal that he saw Nyx.  
            “Is that seriously you’re uniform? You look like you’re meant to be a part of a punk band.” All he can really hear are the last words that Nyx said to him back in Galahd instead of the teasing tone Nyx has. He stays silent, standing at parade rest with his gaze locked on the wall across from him. “Come on, Lu. Please.”  
            “We’re on guard duty. We’re not supposed to talk.” He waits a beat, letting that settle between them. “Don’t call me Lu.” He’d feel like shit for how Nyx actually flinched at that, but can’t bring himself to. Not with ‘who wants someone like you’ still ringing in his ears.  
            A few weeks passed since then. Crowe managed to have him coming round for dinner that he almost always wound up cooking every couple of days. Nyx and he can manage at least civil conversation at this point though that only lasts a couple of hours before they dissolve into screaming matches. In that time he manages to befriend one of the royal guards, despite the man’s initial distaste for foreigners. It’s this man that manages to pull Luche’s head out of his ass.  
            “You’ve got beef with one of those Glaives.” Luche looks up from the book he’s studying at the sound of a bottle and two glasses hitting the table. He sighs and leans back in his chair.  
            “We aren’t supposed to drink inside the Citadel, Petra.” A shrug as the man pours the vodka into both glasses.  
            “Anyone asks, its water.” Petra settles into the chair next to him and takes a drink. “I could see it when you two were at the throne together. That was tense, even for a guard post.” Luche doesn’t grab the glass, opting to twirl the pencil in his hand.  
            “He’s an ex. The only ex.” He gets a motion to continue from Petra and groans. “That’s Nyx. Best friend from fourteen, dating since sixteen. I handled thinking he was cheating poorly, and he told me ‘who wants someone like you anyways?’ Now we can’t be around each other for more than a couple hours if we aren’t on duty.” The glass gets nudge towards and he finally grabs it before Petra can knock it off the table and onto his lap.  
            “Was he cheating?” He does take a drink at this, but not before looking up to make sure none of his superiors had entered the break room.  
            Luche shakes his head, “no. I don’t think so at least. I just let the distance between us and other people’s words get the better of me.” Luche rakes a hand through is hair and stares down at the book of protocols in front of him. “I miss him. Even before we were dating, we were attached at the hip. He should be here making stupid pick-up lines like ‘what’s the protocol for thievery? Because you’ve stolen my heart’ but he isn’t. He isn’t where he should be and I don’t know how to fix it.”  
            “Just talk to him. Worst case, he doesn’t want to talk to you, you come over and Osha will make you cheesecake.” Petra’s fiancé did make an amazing cheesecake.  
            “And the best case?” All he gets is a wink in response and all Petra gets is a playful shove to the shoulder.  
            He does try to talk to Nyx. He tries to approach him when he sees him in the subway station. Luche pushes his way through the crowd, leaving the one person who has become his safety net.  
            “Nyx!” The man turns and he’s more than a little shocked at the thinly disguised disgust on his face as Luche approaches. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”  
            “Now you want to talk?” He isn’t actually sure where the annoyance and anger is coming from. “Guess what, Luche. World doesn’t work on your schedule. Go fuck your new boyfriend then fuck yourself.” He’s also not sure where the boyfriend bit is coming from, but his heart clenches as he watches Nyx board the train. He jumps when a hand lands on his shoulder.  
            “Osha said she was making meatloaf. Split a cab?” It’s not the first time that he’s glad that he made friends with people outside of the ones he followed from Galahd.  
            It’s not long after that he finds himself being transferred to the Glaive, though majority of the time he spends training is trying to get him to be able to warp. Fire, lightning, blizzard, he’s got those down without even trying. It’s just the warping he can’t seem to be able to do. At least, not until they’re in the middle of the raid on their home and there’s a red dot of a sniper rifle dancing on Nyx’s chest. Luche doesn’t even think twice about flipping his dagger to grip it by the blade and throwing it. He doesn’t think twice about the pull-push that happens or shoving Nyx out of the way when he materializes in front of him. He does think he’s going to die when pain explodes from the left side of his chest and he collapses.


	14. Chapter 14

            The first thing he’s aware of when he wakes up is someone crying. He’s leaning towards Libertus with how emotional the man can get. The next thing is florescent lights and white ceiling tiles when he opens his eyes. The lights are too bright and he has to squint to adjust to it. If this is the afterlife, he thinks, this is pretty shitty.  
            It takes him a second to realize whoever is crying is actually talking to him. “Please. Please, Lu. I need you to wake up. I need you here with me. I can’t lose both you and Selena. Please.” He knows that voice and there’s only two people left that would call him that.  
            “I feel like I got shot by a sniper.” He groans.  
            Nyx stares at him for a second before wiping his eyes. “In that case, I’ve got good news for you. That’s exactly what happened.” His voice lacks the usual teasing smirk. “Why did you do it?”  
            “Because the thought of living in a world without an Ulric in it is terrifying.” He watches Nyx hesitate for a moment before slowly taking Luche’s hand in his, giving more than enough time for Luche to pull away. Luche just wraps his fingers around Nyx’s and holds on as tight as he can.  
            “So you tried to make me live in one without you?” He hates how Nyx’s voice wavers, but isn’t sure how to respond so they sit quietly. When he does break the silence, he sounds more like the Nyx that Luche knows. “Don’t ever do something like that again.”  
            “Well it’s not like anyone wants someone like me.” It’s petty. He knows he’s just being petty by throwing it back at Nyx.  
            “Don’t. I fucked up in saying that. I want you. I need you.” Luche wasn’t expecting how vehemently Nyx said that. It doesn’t make the voice of doubt in the back of his head go away.  
            “How do I know this isn’t just you feeling guilty because I saved you?”  
            “Ok, yes. Guilt is making me admit it at least, but not why you think. I was so focused on taking on extra hunts, on saving up money that I forgot the most important thing in my life. I forgot that I needed to take care of you in my drive to afford that stupid ring. I’m so sorry, Luche. I don’t care if we get back together or not, I just need you in my life. I need my best friend back.” He studies Nyx for a moment, not used to seeing him so desperate.  
            “I’m as much at fault as you are, Nyx. I should’ve talked to you instead of lashing out like I did.” He makes a split second decision to shift over on the bed, and Nyx is taking over the empty space immediately just like he hoped. The bed is nowhere near big enough for the two of them, but they make it work just like always. “We start over. We learn to trust each other again. You call me Lu again. In time we’ll put my braid back in your hair.”  
            “What about that guy you were with? The one in the break room and in the subway.”  
            “He has a fiancé. You’d like her. Her desserts put Crowe’s to shame, and her puns are better than your’s.” He chuckles and ignores the pain it causes before pressing a kiss to Nyx’s forehead. “I love you, Nyx Ulric. To the moon and back. We’re in a rough place, but we’ll recover.”  
            “I love you, Luche Lazarus. Till the sun burns out. There’s never been anyone else and never will be. I’m sorry for making you think that there was. Also, no one’s puns are better than mine. Mine are perfect.” They go quiet as Luche rests his cheek against Nyx’s head. “You know the captain is pissed you got shot. Says a shield would’ve been more effective.”  
            Luche snorts at this. “I’m more afraid of Crowe yelling at me than Drautos. Tell me more about this stupid ring you thought was so important.”  
            “Wanted to make sure everyone knew you were taken.” He can feel the smile against his shoulder.  
            “A blind man could’ve seen that I was, Nyx.” It’s been too long since he heard Nyx’s laugh. “You know my answer would’ve been yes.” Nyx snuggles in and trails a hand up Luche’s side, stopping at the edge of the bandage on his chest.  
            “You died.” Luche hugs Nyx tighter to him at this. “I had to leave you to take care of the sniper and you were dead by the time I got back. I was so scared that the bullet was actually going to enter your heart when I was resuscitating you. We all were terrified you wouldn’t make it here in time. We spent eight hours covered in dirt, blood, and sweat sitting on shitty plastic chairs while you were in surgery. I think ma almost wore a trench in the floor with her pacing.”  
            He had to swallow around the lump in his throat before he could talk. “It was worth it knowing that you lived. That ma lived.”  
            “Yeah, we’re alive but you almost weren’t. Do you know how scared I was?”  
            “Yes. I’ve lived with that fear since we were fifteen and I had to watch you go off on hunts you had no business doing.” He sighs heavily, not wanting to start a new argument between them. “I’m tired. Can you call the nurse so we can get that part over with?”  
            “Of course.” Nyx’s words are tense, almost angry.  
            “Then stay with me?” He should probably feel ashamed for how pleading it sounded, but the last few months without Nyx had been awful. Luche wasn’t about to risk it happening again.  
            “Of course.” This time the words are softer, accompanied by a gentle kiss. It felt like coming home. It felt more like home when the kiss deepened, and they end up getting caught by the nurse with one of Nyx’s hands under the blanket and Luche’s right hand squeezing Nyx’s ass. Despite the pain in his chest, he joins in on Nyx’s laughter with their foreheads pressed together.


	15. Chapter 15

            “And now, a series of increasingly confusing texts you’ve got from Nyx today.” Luche looks up at Tredd who has Luche’s phone in his hand. “‘Good morning, Lu.’”  
            Luche tries to think of when he was close enough for Tredd to get into his pockets. “Your sticky fingers are getting really annoying. When did you get my phone?” It does explain why he thought his phone was oddly quiet for Nyx not working today.  
            “‘You weren’t supposed to go in today.’ Followed by ‘Did you steal my uniform shirt? You better not be wearing it with your crownsguard hoodie.’” Tredd slides into the chair across from Luche who sighs and tries to grab his phone from Tredd’s hands. “‘You ass, you are wearing it with that hoodie. Where is your Glaive pride?’ How does he know what you’re wearing?”  
            “Because he’s at my place. You aren’t going to give it back, are you?” Tredd just smirks as he scrolls down through his messages.  
            “You slept with him. You hate fucked him.” Luche has to bite the inside of his cheek to not laugh at that. “That’s my boy. Finally channeling all that aggression into something good for you. ‘You should come home so I can take it off you.’ Then there’s a winking emoji.”  
            He knows exactly what’s going to be next, since his phone is now filled with selfies from Nyx ranging from obscene to adorable. “You aren’t going to want to see what follows that.” Tredd snorts, not taking Luche’s warning seriously as he keeps scrolling.  
            He goes wide eyed at the picture after that. “I did not want to see what Nyx is packing. I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing his dick and been perfectly happy.” Tredd stares at it for another second. “Though I guess this does explain your occasional limp.”  
            “I didn’t have hate sex with him.” Luche isn’t entirely sure how Tredd managed to miss the two of them being all over each other these past couple of months, but apparently he did. Nyx is going to have a field day lording it over Tredd when he finds out. “Aggressive and weirdly acrobatic sex, yes, but not hate sex.”  
            “Oh, look. Another one just came in.” The look of pure confusion on Tredd’s face has Luche already moving to snatch the phone while he’s distracted. “‘I love you till the sun burns out. Please answer me.’” He stares up at Luche as Luche types out a reply. “What the actual fuck? If I had known you were that good of a lay I would’ve at least considered trying.”  
            Luche pulls up the camera and aims it at Tredd, knowing Nyx will want to see his face. “He’s been insecure ever since we had that fight. If I go hours without replying when I’m not on active duty, he gets scared that we’re going to break up again.” Yep, that face when Tredd pieces together that they are dating. He smirks to himself as he sends the picture off to Nyx.  
            “You and Nyx. Together.” Luche nods slowly, waiting for Tredd to finish the minor freak out he seemed to be having. “So he’s just that clingy? Wouldn’t have pegged him as the type.”  
            This has Luche shaking his head. “We’re both a little shaken by what happened. Why do you think I keep pushing for Nyx and me to be assigned duties together?” Drautos took some convincing that they could work without being at each other’s throats, but Luche had managed to get them guard duty at the citadel together. Mostly it just annoyed Petra because he keeps finding them making out in empty rooms.  
            “How long” Tredd gets cut off by Luche’s phone going off. He answers the call to Nyx laughing too hard to form intelligible words. The most Luche can get are the words Tredd, dating, and idiot. Tredd glares at the phone and Luche almost joins in with Nyx.  
            Crowe stands in the doorway to the break room looking between Luche, Tredd, and the phone being held between them. “Is there a reason you two are sitting here listening to someone laughing?”  
            “Did you know those two are dating?” This had Nyx who was just starting to calm down lose it again though this time had Crowe joining in though not nearly as hard as him. Luche shakes his head at Tredd.  
            “Everyone but you, apparently, knows it.” Crowe looks amused as she grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. “It’s a fact of life. Sky’s blue, grass is green, they are disgustingly in love with each other.”  
            “I feel like everything I thought I knew is now wrong.” Luche smacks Tredd’s hand away from his phone.  
            “Alright, both of you, let me work. Tredd, stop with the pickpocketing. Drautos is about to start just throwing you in a cell when he catches you.” He gets a mock salute from both of them as they leave and he takes Nyx off of speaker phone. “Hope that makes up for you waking up alone.”  
            “That was absolutely worth it.” Luche leans back in his chair and smiles softly at Nyx’s voice. “Why did you go in?”  
            “Coordinating patrol routes with the royal guard for Drautos. I should be done soon.” He does feel slightly guilty for not waiting to do this until tomorrow at Nyx’s sigh.  
            “Lunch at the bar?”  
            “I’ll be there.”


	16. Chapter 16

            “You’re supposed to be in bed, Lu.” Luche looks over his shoulder at Nyx who was leaning against the wall. He moved into the apartment a handful of days ago and Nyx has already started acting like he lives here too. Not that Luche minded. “Isn’t that why you forced Drautos to go home? So you both can get some rest?” Nyx isn’t wrong. Luche had sent the captain home hours ago in hopes the man would finally get some rest.  
            “I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you.” It was the best he could do as Nyx moves towards him, nudging papers out of the way to sit directly in front of him on the table. He can’t resist running his hands along the legs on either side of him.  
            Nyx rests his elbows on his knees and cups Luche’s face. “I’ve been gone for weeks and you abandon me because of paperwork.” Luche leans into one of Nyx’s hands with a tired smile.  
            “Analyzing Niflheim tactics and intelligence you helped gather to devise an effective strategy to push them back to their own borders. Not paperwork, though I’d do that for him if he asked.” He gets an unimpressed look at this.  
            “Remember when we fought because I was ignoring you?”  
            He sighs at this and turns his head slightly to kiss the palm on his face. “We fought because I listened to other people and you were gone without word for months on end. I’m sitting at the table going through reports. You can easily do what you just did.”  
            Nyx strokes his thumbs along his cheeks. “I feel like I’m losing you to work.”  
            “You’re handling this better than I did.” He grumbles before sighing. “You’re right. Tonight will be the last night I work past 11. I’ll tell Drautos in the morning when I meet with him that things will take longer.” He knows that look. Give Nyx an inch and he’s going to try for the whole mile.  
            “You won’t work past 9.”  
            Luche stands up, sliding his hands up Nyx’s calves to rest on his thighs. “10 and that’s the final offer.”  
            “Option to make it earlier if one of us has been gone?” Nyx’s hands slid down to his chest, his thumb tracing the outline of the scar that’s been healed for months.  
            “Deal but only if you clean the apartment.”  
            “Deal because I do that already.” Nyx’s smile after the kiss is contagious. “You remember when we were sixteen and I convinced you to skip class to go to the canyon and you said that thing?” He can’t help but chuckle and shake his head.  
            “Only if you’re referring to that time you almost killed us pulling off the road.” Nyx scoffs at this.  
            “The only thing we would’ve hit was tall grass, we were fine.” Luche has his doubts. “I’m having trouble remembering what you said.” He’s dating a dork that much he was sure about.  
            “I think I love you.” The kiss he gets pulled into has him grinning once again.  
            “That’s what it was. You should say it again so I don’t forget.” Luche loses track of how long they spend like that. Him laughing as Nyx kisses a different patch of his skin after ever whisper. He does know that it only stops after Nyx has herded him down the hall, into their room, and he’s pressed against Nyx’s back with an arm hugging him close.


	17. Chapter 17

            “When did you adopt a cat?” Of all the things Luche had witnessed when he first enters Nyx’s apartment, seeing a sleepy Nyx lying in bed with a white cat on his chest never actually entered the realm of possibility for him.  
            “She came in through the window sometime last night and hasn’t left.” Nyx yawned as he ran a hand through the purring mass of fur. “I think you don’t adopt cats. They adopt you and you don’t get a say in it.” Luche hummed as he placed the leftovers he brought into the fridge. “Thinking of naming her Selena.”  
            “You know keeping her is a bad idea with how often we’re gone.” There was a sigh, and Luche hates how disappointed it sounded. He moved over to them and inspected the cat who moves only to bump her head against Luche’s hand. “She looks well enough, a little on the skinny side. I suppose you could just leave the window open for her when we’re deployed so she at least has a safe place to sleep.” The grin on Nyx’s face said more than words could. “You shit. You know I hate when you do that.”  
            “Maybe I just like seeing you try to go out of your way to give me what I want.” Luche stopped petting Selena long enough to reach up and flick Nyx on his nose making him laugh. “How come we never went through with getting one? We always talked about it.” Luche kicked off his shoes and crawled over Nyx to sit against the wall, stretching his legs out over the other man’s stomach. Selena purred louder as she shifted to press against his legs.  
            “We agreed to wait until we weren’t living in a one bedroom apartment with three other people then we broke up.” Nyx grumbles at that as he closed his eyes. “That was years ago, Nyx. If we were going to actually end this, it would’ve already happened again so don’t worry.” He watches in amusement when Nyx blindly searches for his hand, taking pity after a few seconds and lacing their fingers together. “So, hero, want to tell me what you were thinking commandeering that airship?”  
            Nyx groans, “I already get enough of that sarcastic hero crap from Libertus, I don’t need it from you too.” Luche scratches under the cat’s chin while he waits for Nyx to answer the question. He was silent long enough for Nyx to open an eye to look at him. “I saw an opening to push the nifs back for once and I took it. I know we had orders to retreat, but it was too good of a chance. We won, finally. Refugees are getting slightly less harassed by the locals. People have hope that Niflheim can be beaten.” Luche snorts at this. “You’re mad at me.”  
            “No, you just paraphrased the king’s speech about what happened. Though he made it seem much more deliberate heroism than dumb idea that worked out.” He sighs as he looks away from Nyx. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to be mad at you. I want to yell at you for endangering yourself needlessly and about how we’re supposed to make it through this so we can go back to Galahd together. I can’t because the ends justify the means.” He gives a tentative squeeze to Nyx’s hand. “Don’t make this a habit.”  
            “If it means more people make it home or nifs get shoved back, I’m going to do it.” Luche really should know better by now that Nyx would do anything to save himself.  
            “You don’t need to save everyone, Nyx.”  
            “Says the guy who needs to take care of everyone.” Luche glares at the one eye Nyx has open only to get a huff in response. “You said you wanted to yell at me. I’m just trying to give you a reason you think is acceptable.”  
            The noise he makes at this is close to a growl, “we could always yell about you not wanting to move in with me and out of this dump some more.”  
            “I happen to like my dump, fuck you very much.” He pulls his hand away Nyx’s at this and focuses on petting the cat. “Lu.” Nyx is pleading which only has Luche pinching at the bridge of his nose in frustration.  
            “When you’re ready to at least tell me why you won’t, you know I’ll listen.” He sighs before reaching over to grab the remote, not actually paying attention to what was playing on the TV.  
            He knows at least an hour has passed before he feels Nyx pressing his forehead against his cheek. “Are you a fruit?” Luche tries to look at Nyx, but all he can see is hair, forehead, and eyebrows. “Because honeydew you know how beautiful you look right now?” He tries not to laugh as he turns his head enough to kiss the top of Nyx’s head. “You must have had lucky charms for breakfast because you look magically delicious.” He fails to hide his amusement at that one with Nyx chuckling along with him. “You’re definitely a hipster because, baby, you make my hips stir.”  
            Luche squeezes Nyx’s hand and stops him before the next terrible pick up line, “let’s go to the beach.”  
            “What? Like the harbor?” He takes a moment to watch Nyx bring his hang up to his face, smiling when the other kisses his palm.  
            “No, the beach. Like Galdin Quay. We’ve both have enough for a week of leave, and I’ve enough to afford one of those fancy hotel rooms for just as long.” Nyx takes a second to think before nipping at his palm.  
            “Isn’t there a campsite further down that we could stay at?”  
            Luche grins at the lack of a denial, “Only if you actually remember the gear this time.”  
            “That was one time, Lu.” This time he taps his thumb against Nyx’s nose in reprimand for the nip making Nyx laugh.  
            “So camping trip to the beach?”  
            “Yeah.” Nyx pulls Luche’s hand away from his face and studies it like he hasn’t done it a thousand times. “You know, I’ve never actually built a sandcastle. Played in the tides, bathed in the sun, eat seafood? I’ve done them all. But never have I been able to build a sandcastle.”  
            “Then the second thing we’ll do after we set up camp is to figure out how to do it.”  
            “The second thing? What’s the first?” Luche slowly forces Nyx to lie back down on the bed, a smirk on his face letting him know exactly what the first thing would wind up being. “Yeah, sandcastle second. I am absolutely ok with that schedule.”


	18. Chapter 18

            “I’m telling you, mate. It’s because you live in the upper wards.” Luche looks over at Petra who took another swig from his glass.  
            He frowns as he runs a thumb along the rim of his own glass. “That doesn’t make any sense. The two of them live there whenever I’m in the city.” No matter how often Petra drags him out for a drink, he’ll never get used to the burn of straight vodka the man insists they drink.  
            “You’re too attached to that cat if you’re including her in this.” He huffs at Petra’s look.  
            “She’s a valued member of the Ulric household.”  
            He chuckles at the finger almost poking his face. “I’m going to make fun of you for that later.” There’s a quiet moment while Petra takes another drink. “They live there because you’re there. You make it worth the glares he’s getting. Split the difference is all I’m saying. Pull him out of the refugee slums but have it be middle ward. Maybe a townhouse in sector F. Six knows you need more room with how many people wind up at your place.” Luche smiles at that.  
            “I’d say I would be happier with a few less constantly over, but we both know I’d be lying.”  
            “You’re mom of Glaive and Guard alike. Careful now, our CO’s might get jealous.”  
            “I know mine doesn’t mind since he’s just as bad as the rest. If given the chance I’m afraid Cor will join them as well.” He’s sworn to secrecy about how Cor is already as bad as everyone else. They have a standing breakfast time for Wednesdays. “You really think it’s where I live that’s the issue?”  
            The look he gets from Petra is fond and annoyed. “Bring it up to him with options to move that’s in the middle wards, and I guarantee you’ll have a different answer.”  
            “I don’t know, Petra. What if it’s just that he wants to be with me but not go beyond staying the night?” He gets a swat to the back of his head.  
            “Stop being a twat. Even blind strangers the two of you have been and will always be the real deal.” Luche takes a minute to take a drink and think about what he’s saying.  
            “How’s Osha and the kid doing?”  
            “Good. Good. Though Isaac’s been asking about his uncle Laz.” He can’t help but grin at the thought of little Fortis who was already was showing he was going to be as big as his father but with his mother’s spitfire spirit.  
            “I’ll come by when I can. Work just has me busy to the point my only free time is after the little tyke is in bed.” He does miss his godson, and feels a little guilty it’s been a couple months since he saw him. “Maybe I can wrangle some time so I can bring Nyx around. You two can finally meet without you needing to torture him for me.”  
            He clicks his tongue at that. “Shame. He’s my favorite one to do it to.” Luche laughs before taking a drink.  
            “Thanks, Petra.”  
            “Anything to help a friend.” He shakes his head at the wink thrown his way before he downs the rest of his drink. He taps the glass gently against the bar as he debates another drink.  
            “Can you do me a favor?”  
            “Of course. You name it.” Petra’s tone implies he’s thinking Luche is going to ask him to pick up the tab or pet sit Selena.  
            “Watch Nyx’s back if anything should happen to me. He’s already reckless enough and it’ll just get worse if he’s grieving. I need to know there’s someone here who will take care of him.” He catches a look of concern on Petra’s face out of the corner of his eye, but doesn’t acknowledge it.  
            “Only if you promise to show him places that are between the two of you instead one extreme or the other.” His debate on another drink is answered by the bartender filling the one in front of him again. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to be best man at your wedding?” He’s not entirely sure what is with everyone and talking about Nyx and him getting married. They weren’t even engaged yet.  
            “There’s something weird with the Glaive. I’m looking into it, but I don’t want to make the investigation official yet. Not until I have evidence at least.”  
            “You tell anyone else?”  
            “So far, just Crowe.” He rolls his eyes at Petra’s concern again. “All I told her was that I thought something suspicious was going on, not to the extent that I actually think it is. I wouldn’t have said anything if I thought she was a part of it. She is also terrifying and knows when something is bothering me. I really had no choice but to tell her.” He could do without the laugh from his friend at that.  
“You should talk to Cor. He’ll listen to you even if all you have is a gut feeling.” They both get lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes. “You know I’m going to torture him whenever he has gate duty until he stops being an idiot.”  
            Luche laughs and salutes him. “You are doing the six’s work and can do it with my blessing.”  
            When he finally makes it home, he’s greeted by Nyx asleep on the couch with an empty bottle of rum in his hand. He can’t help the fond smile as he grabs the bottle and places it on the end table while he runs a hand through Nyx’s hair. He kneels down in front of the couch. “Babe, wake up.”  
            Nyx hums as he opens his eyes, smiling when he manages to focus on Luche. “Luche. Lu. Luche-smuche. Luchador.”  
            “You are more drunk than I am. How is that possible?” He simles at Nyx’s fumbling attempts to pull him closer.  
            “Tredd and pirates.” He should’ve guessed that the Glaive’s favorite drinking game was the culprit.  
            “You shits played Kraken without me?” Nyx nods, not even looking a little remorseful at his offended tone. “Where’s Tredd?”  
            “Room.” He follows the flailing arm towards his guestroom. “Wanted to wait up for you.” The flailing arm turned into a gentle hand cupping his cheek. He brings his own hand up to cover Nyx’s and nuzzles into his palm.  
            He whispers in case Tredd is awake and in a much sober state than Nyx is. “I think there’s a traitor in the glaive and I want to go look at townhouses near the park with the rogue queen.”  
            “That’s nice. I’m drunk.” Luche isn’t entirely sure why he thought he’d get a real answer. Instead of trying to keep talking, he hauls Nyx up off the couch and does his best to herd him into their bedroom. He’s fairly sure Nyx is going to wake up to bruises with how determined he seemed to walk into every piece of furniture between them and the bed.


	19. Chapter 19

            Luche should’ve known it was Drautos and that he was planning something big. He should’ve seen it when the man became obsessive with asking Luche about his thoughts on the war instead of their usual discussion of tactics. It shouldn’t have surprised him when he’s stopped on the way back to HQ by Tredd to hand him his gun with a sickening ‘thanks for the loan’ after he gets news of Crowe’s death or when the damn ginger pops up and shoots Nyx when they go to meet Titus for extraction. He does get some satisfaction about shooting Tredd in the head from the balcony where he unsuccessfully tries to get the princess out of harm’s way. Though he’s not going to lie, putting on the ring was one of his worse ideas but he couldn’t see any other out. His only real regret was that the balcony was high enough to leave him broken and smoldering instead of the fall killing him.  
            His breaths came easier as a mostly intact phoenix down is placed on his chest and a very scarred Nyx drops down onto the ground next to him. “I’m tired, Lu.” Even the feather couldn’t fix the ache in his chest at that. “I’m tired of losing people, of this war, of giving people my all only to have them betray me.” He tries to move, tries to sit up to comfort Nyx but stops at the shake of a head. “I know you. I know you did what you did to keep me safe. You want this done as much as I do.” He can feel the fire in his veins, repairing the damage from the fall. “I guess I just don’t get why you didn’t talk to me first. I thought we talked about everything with each other. I thought you’d get that I’d want to help try to prevent tonight. Was I that high on your suspect list?”  
            The phoenix down finally wrapped up its job, taking longer than Luche would’ve liked. “No. You were the first taken off the list.” He gently grabs Nyx as he sits up and brings their foreheads together. “I didn’t want to put you at risk unless I knew for certain who it was. Especially not after Crowe.” He does his best not to completely lean against Nyx, to not let his body curl around his love and go limp. “I wasn’t supposed to survive the night.”  
            “I’m glad you did.” He brushed his thumb along Nyx’s cheek, frowning when he feels tears. “I’m so tired, Luche.” He does try to curl around the man at that point. His thighs pressing against Nyx’s back, an arm wrapping around his waist while the hand on his face moves to the back of Nyx’s neck.  
            “Then let’s scavange what we can and find a place that’ll let us rest.” He takes a risk and presses a gentle kiss to the corner of Nyx’s lips. “I hear Tenebrae has some pretty fertile soil.”  
            He wasn’t prepared for Nyx to slide an arm around his waist or the kiss that followed. “So we just loot and disappear. Let everyone think we’re dead and live out our lives in peace?” Luche hums softly at this.  
            “I’m sure there’s a truck we can hotwire and some UV lights we can reverse engineer.” Another kiss and he pulls Nyx closer to him. He can even feel how tired Nyx is with how he presses against him.  
Luche waits, letting Nyx work through the idea. “Everyone is going to need ingredients for potions and elixirs. We can get set up and be able to supply a lot of people if we can do it in the next couple of months.”  
            They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, just holding onto each other. “So you make sure that everyone is well stocked and I’ll make sure everyone that comes to us is well fed and rested.” A nod from Nyx was all he needed to start planning everything out. Of course it was slightly delayed because he forgot he was dealing with Nyx Ulric.  
            “You know, I’m more than willing to give you a hand with anything you need.” The man motioned to where Luche was missing his right hand and forearm.  
            A heavy sigh, “I’m going to have to deal with you making these jokes for the rest of my life, aren’t I?” The look Nyx gives him has him promising that if he gets a prosthetic, he’s going to throw it at the other every time he makes that joke.  
            “If you didn’t want to hear them, you shouldn’t have put on the ring.” There was a shrug like the hero hadn’t also put on the ring.  
            “At least I can still look good while missing a body part.” He purposefully uses his shorter arm to gesture to the scars decorating the left side of Nyx’s body.  
            “Oh look, I’ll only love you till the sun goes out. Guess you’re working on a timer now, huh?” Nyx wrapped an around him again and looked towards the sky.  
            “Jokes on you, Ulric. Starscurge doesn’t kill the sun. Just makes it permanently dark.” He leans against Nyx again and rests his head on the other’s shoulder.  
            A soft laugh, “well, shit. I guess we’re just going to have to go start a farm together then.”  
            “I can think of worse fates.” They both smile at that and sit for a few more minutes.  
            Years later after they run into two familiar kids and adopt them, when they have a house and some land, when Selena that cat has somehow managed to find them and they become the single most reliable source of good quality ingredients despite how far from everyone they are, when they both argue over who the girls from hammerhead are there to see along with the normal pick up, they finally know peace.  
            “Lu, I can see the light.” Or as peaceful as a life can get when it involves Nyx Ulric. “It’s so beautiful.”  
            “Forgot that the bush has thorns again?” he doesn’t look up from the bread dough he’s kneading, his remaining hand flowing through the movements with practiced ease.  
            “Well, that too. I was mostly talking about how the sky is now blue instead of black.” That did have Luche looking up, stopping to pull Nyx outside and look at the sky that was starting to brighten.  
            “Didn’t think I’d ever see that again.” He tugs Nyx in front of him and faces where the sun would rise. His arms wrapped around the other’s waist and his chin rested on his shoulder. The sun was rising, Nyx was in his arms and Luche couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the main story for these two. I've started posting all the bits and tumblr prompts on here as well as my tumblr. If, for some reason you want to come find me and haven't already, my tumblr is here:  
> http://sirwolf-theconsultingsorcerer.tumblr.com/


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